


Major Crimes: Season 1

by grrriliketigers



Series: The Closer/Major Crimes Companion Series [2]
Category: Major Crimes (TV), The Closer
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 04:51:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1592303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grrriliketigers/pseuds/grrriliketigers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation of the companion series with Brenda/Sharon as the established community. How the addition of Rusty and Brenda's new job situation changes their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reloaded

Angela poured the tequila into the shot glasses. “Are you sure you want to do tequila shots the night before taking over the squad that probably hates you the most?” 

“All the more reason to drink, my dear,” Sharon smiled, “besides, you don’t get nasty hangovers from good tequila. This is a $60 tequila.” 

“Okay.” Angela grinned and pushed the shot glass toward her mouth. “Ready?”

“Ready.” 

“Go!” The Raydor women licked their hands, poured the salt, licked again, took their shots and the stuck the lime slices in their mouths. 

“Whoo!” Sharon laughed, “that’s good tequila.” 

Sharon took the bottle and poured them each another shot. “So, where’s your brother this evening? I’ve never known him to turn down tequila.”

Angela shrugged, “I don’t know, I told him we were doing promotion shooters tonight.” 

“Maybe he has a date.” 

“He didn’t indicate anything to me. Stranger things have happened, I guess.” Angela shrugged again “Ready for the next shot?” 

**

Sharon walked into the bullpen of Major Crimes, steaming mug of coffee in her hand. Most of the lights were off and all the chairs were empty. She glanced toward the break room and then to the conference room. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that none of the squad had been there yet that morning… 

Sharon put her phone to her ear. “Comm – Chief Taylor, I seem to be minus a squad.” 

“Major Crimes is on scene, Captain, why don’t you meet me there?” 

“Do you think that the announcement should be made at a crime scene? Wouldn’t we all be better served to wait until – ” 

Taylor cut her off. “We’re going to do it like ripping off a band aid.” He provided her the address and then hung up. 

Sharon scowled all the way back down to the parking garage. She hated being late. She’d been born two weeks early and since then she’d never shown up late for anything. She also really didn’t think it would be productive to tell the boys on location. 

She sipped her coffee as she slid behind the wheel of her crown vic. And just when had Taylor planned on telling her about the scene? She couldn’t help the niggling little feeling that Taylor wanted her to fail. 

She managed to mostly calm herself down by the time she arrived at the grocery store. She got out and looked around for Taylor and he pulled up next to her car a minute later. “Sorry. I hit traffic. Hope you weren’t waiting long.” 

“No, I just got here.” Sharon shoved her hands into her pockets. 

Sharon and Taylor weaved through the crowded scene until they reached the white tent command post. Detective Miller was just walking away and Provenza turned to bark orders at Flynn before he saw Sharon. “Oh, Captain. Do you need anything?” He asked perfunctorily but with a scowl. 

“Lieutenant, sorry to be running so behind. Could you bring me up to speed?” 

Provenza barely concealed an eye roll. “Hold on.” He turned to Flynn, giving him directions. 

Sharon cast Taylor a pointed look which was summarily ignored. 

Provenza returned his attention to Sharon, “I’m sorry, Captain, I don’t owe you a briefing. Technically, the kid was in FID’s custody, not ours, and as you can see, we’re in a bit of a hurry here.” 

“Provenza,” Taylor interjected forcefully. “Captain Raydor was transferred from Force Investigation Division to Major Crimes - making her your ranking officer – effective immediately.” 

Provenza stared at Taylor and then at Sharon, dumbfounded. 

“And I need a briefing.” Sharon repeated. 

“Um. Okay.” There was a beat before his usual gruff demeanor returned, full of scorn and contempt for Sharon. “Okay, I’ll give you a briefing: you’re late. And you may be the ranking officer but I am the incident commander and I am not halting a search for suspects with automatic weapons so you or anybody else can catch up.” 

“Lieutenant - ” 

Provenza turned on his heel, nostrils flaring angrily. “There's a couple things you don't seem to understand: one of that I am the incident commander and the other is English because I've said it twice. [talks to fritz] I will call you, Captain, after I've made my arrest.”

The older man stalked off and got into a car with Flynn as he stared out the window at Sharon. 

“I told you we should have waited.” Sharon grumbled. 

“No. This is the moment.” 

Sharon managed to contain her sigh at the last moment and bite back all the snide remarks on the tip of her tongue. Surely, if she could manage to put aside any ill feelings toward superior officers Provenza could do the same?

**

On her way back into the heart of Major Crimes – this time alive with activity – she was joined by Amy Sykes. She recounted her version of the morning’s events, adding at the end, “it wasn't until we started clearing the store we even knew the other two suspects were there and by that time – ”

“They were gone.” Sharon nodded knowingly. 

“Lieutenant Provenza was mad that we didn't chase after them but I felt it was more importat that we stick with procedure and remain at the scene of our action.”

Ordinarily Sharon hated kiss asses but considering her chilly reception it was somewhat refreshing. “Which was the right thing to do, of course. Major Crimes has a history of ignoring LAPD policy and leaving _others_ to deal with the consequences - ”

It was then that she noticed Rusty at one of the desks. She walked up to the boy and the uniformed officer standing over him with trepidation. There was no way that they were the bearers of good news. 

“Rusty… what are you doing here?” 

The officer cleared his throat and announced, “his file says attention Major Crimes and this is the third time he's run away from home this week.” 

“ _It's not my home_.” Rusty snapped. 

_Oh no,_ Sharon thought to herself, _there it is, that tone of voice that teenagers use to make everything sound so fucking dramatic…_

The officer spoke again, “the foster parents DCFS put him with won't take him back.” 

“That is fine with me; they were terrible.” Rusty sneered. 

“What’s the problem?” Sharon asked, hoping she sounded sympathetic and not as annoyed as she felt. 

“ _Living with complete strangers - that is the problem - **and** they were, like, telling me what to do all day long, like, even what I could eat. And they would turn off the television **at nine o'clock - every night**_.”

“So, you were tortured.” Sharon said sardonically. 

Rusty scowled and leaned back. 

Sharon smirked before turning to the officer. “I will take care of him. Thank you.” 

“Look, I know Brenda was fired or whatever but I need to speak with _her_ right now.” Rusty demanded. 

“Detective Sykes, could you, uh,” Sharon placed the file folder in Sykes hands, “could you pardon me for one moment?”

“Sure, and I should say congratulations, Captain, on taking over Major Crimes, well deserved.” Amy smiled a smile that could rot teeth. Sharon gave her a quick smile before ushering Rusty into Brenda’s – well, her office now. 

“Look, uh, we had a deal. I helped you guys catch a serial killer so that you would find my mom not just dump me into the system. I mean, you want to know why people don't like the police? It's because you're all a bunch of liars. That's why.”

“Okay, uh,” Sharon sat down in the chair behind the desk. It was springier than she’d imagined and she bounced on the seat once and swiveled a couple times before turning to focus on the boy again. “Right. Rusty. We haven't been able to find your mom yet and you are too young to live unsupervised.”

“I lived unsupervised for months and nobody cared. I can handle it.” 

Sharon fought the urge to roll her eyes, “Okay. You are a material witness in a murder trial - which means that you have to go to court when Phillip Stroh stands trial and _you_ have to testify under oath about what happened.”

“No, I don’t have to do that!” Rusty protested, speaking over her words. 

“Oh, yes, you do. And we have to protect you until then.” Sharon narrowed her eyes a little. 

“No, I'm not doing that and you can't make me.” He shook his head stubbornly. 

“Oh, yes we can make you and we will make you and until then we need to find a safe place for you to _stay_.” 

Rusty put his hand on the table, “Look, I don't know you really but I don't like you.” He said, eliciting a small shrug from the captain. “So, I'd rather just deal with Brenda, please.”

“Well, I'm afraid you're standing at the back of a very long line. Unfortunately, Chief Johnson has retired from the LAPD. She is out of town. So I am who you've got.” 

“ _What_?” Rusty snapped as someone knocked on the door. 

“Hold on.”

“No, no, no, no, no! You hold on. I need to know who here is looking for my mother!” Rusty roared. 

“I am. I am supervising the search for your mother and I will find her.” She fixed Rusty with a smoldering look that shut him up for a moment. 

The person on the other side of the door knocked again an she beckoned Buzz to enter.

“Sorry to interrupt but the lieutenants are back and Commander Taylor - _Assistant Chief_ Taylor is walking down from his office.” 

“Okay, um, Buzz, you remember Rusty.” Sharon indicated her young ward, smiling encouragingly. 

“Oh, uh, yes. Hi.” 

Rusty screwed his face up in a disgusted scowl. “I don’t know him.” 

“He works here.” Sharon said dismissively, “Um, Buzz, could you keep our guest with you in electronics until I get child services to appoint a more suitable guardian.”

“No!” Rusty cried. 

“I know how upsetting this is - ” Sharon started. 

“No, you put me somewhere – ” Rusty raised his voice louder, talking over Sharon. “Listen to me. _Listen to me!_ If you put me somewhere that is not with my mom then I am gone and that's too bad for your trial, huh?”

“Buzz. Electronics. Now.” Sharon turned on her heel and exited through the other door. 

“Hey! I want a lawyer! I have a right to a lawyer, don’t I?” 

**

Sharon picked up her phone and hovered over Brenda’s speed dial button but hesitated. She wasn’t going to let this day beat her. Sharon set the receiver back down and resolved to call Brenda this evening to tell her that – despite the many challenges – her first day had been nothing short of a success. 

Failure was _not_ an option. 

**

Angela let herself into her apartment and stopped short seeing James with his suitcases next to him. “Hey Ange.” He smiled. 

“Hey… what’s up?” She asked with concern. 

“I’m moving out. It’s time.”

“What are you talking about? You make $12 an hour and you want to get your paralegal certificate… how do you plan on paying for an apartment?” 

“It’s not a full apartment, it’s a room share.” 

Angela scoffed, “little bro, be reasonable.” She put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a patented Sharon Raydor smirk. “Why on earth would you pay to share a room with strangers when you have your own bedroom here? We’re close to work here and we can commute together.” 

“I’m not a freeloader.” James snapped. 

“Then pay me rent. I don’t even give a shit about that.” 

James shook his head. “I’ve made up my mind.” 

Angela sighed, “give me a minute to change and I’ll help you move.” She held up her hand as he was about to protest, “not up for negotiation.” 

**

Sharon threw open the door to find Rusty and Buzz fighting over one of Rusty’s crutches and yelling at each other. “I am getting a lawyer and I am suing you for holding me against my will!” Rusty screeched. 

“ _You knock it off._ ” Sharon snarled through gritted teeth. “And I mean _right now_ or the next place you go is going to have bars on the windows and locks on the doors. Do you want to spend the next _two years_ in a juvenile detention center? _Keep talking and see what happens!_ ” 

Rusty swallowed involuntarily, blinking at Sharon with a suitable amount of fear. Sharon held his gaze, narrowing her eyes. 

Buzz watched her posture with apprehension, glad not to be the recipient of the dreaded glare. She looked like a leopard about to pounce on and devour an antelope. 

Rusty bit the inside of his cheek and glanced away, breaking the intense eye contact. 

Sharon turned, her facial expression softening but still obviously incensed and took Buzz by the arm, “officially, Rusty is in an emergency care situation which means he needs 24-7 adult supervision.”

“Okay… but by whom?” 

_Wow, men are babies…_ Sharon thought to herself but said aloud, “Well, I am working that out but in the meantime have him walked across the street to the doctor. Have his personal things sent to my office and he'll be out of your hair for the rest of the day.” 

As she turned she muttered to herself, “because heaven forbid you do something that requires a little bit of patience.” She fixed her gaze on the boy again, “before we can deal with any of your concerns we need to comply _fully with the law_ and we will.” 

She gave him a last pointed look before turning away. She didn’t have the time to deal with this right now and, as far as she was concerned, that conversation was over. 

Buzz handed Rusty back the crutch. “God, does she love the rules.” Rusty shook his head. 

“You have no idea.” Buzz agreed. 

**

Angela and James rolled up in front of the house and Angela stared at it through the window. She shook her head slowly, “mom is going to murder you… provided one of your neighbors doesn’t save her the trouble.” 

“It’s a little rough, I know.” James said, grabbing his duffel bag from the back seat, “but they seem like a good group of guys and it’s right next to a bus stop.” 

Angela looked over at the weatherworn and splintering bus bench with a grimace. “And you consider that to be a plus?” 

“Pop the trunk, would ya?” 

Angela popped the trunk despite her obvious apprehension. James grabbed his two suitcases and closed the trunk. Angela locked the car and grabbed the handle of one of the suitcases. 

The front door opened and a tall, thin 20-something guy in a tight striped tank top with an anchor on the left breast smiled. “Hey man.” They grasped hands and half-hugged before separating. 

“Max, this is my sister, Angela.” 

“Enchanté, Angela,” he shook her hand, “come in, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guys.” 

**

Sharon was just getting off the phone with Detective Miller. While she had no sympathy at all for Greg Miller she really did feel for his father. She couldn’t even imagine if one of her children had done what Greg did but she knew she would be heartbroken. 

Provenza burst through her door, “he didn’t deserve that deal!” He yelled. 

Sharon turned away from the belligerent old fart, covering the receiver, “yes, thank you. Goodbye.” 

Before she had a chance to greet the man sarcastically, he launched into his rant. “Greg Miller is going to jail for the people _we_ killed and getting off scott free for the murders he committed himself.” He laughed sardonically, “but I guess that's alright because you saved the city a lot of money. Bet you're really happy about that, huh?” 

Sharon smiled sickeningly sweetly. “I put a murderer away for life in less than 48 hours which is not the usual routine around here... so, yes, I feel excellent. Thank you for asking.” 

Provenza huffed angrily. “So, we’ve been doing it all wrong, is that it?”

“Hey, you said it.” Sharon smirked before adding, “when suspects agree to a deal, like Greg Miller just did, they surrender all rights to appeal, we've locked them up, we've thrown away the key, we move on.”

“With people like _Amy Sykes_?” Provenza demanded. Raydor’s arrival as the senior officer had been a slap in the face but Sykes being transferred in was the absolute last straw. And he planned to give Sharon a piece of his mind, high blood pressure be damned. “ _Ye gods!_ ”

“As difficult as this may be for you to understand, I need at least one person here who actually likes me.” 

“Sykes doesn’t like you!” Provenza laughed, feeling increasingly spiteful the longer he stood in the brunette’s presence. “She's just pretending to like you to get the job.” 

Sharon chuckled a little. “Still.” 

Fritz knocked on the door. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“No, we’re finished.” Sharon smiled triumphantly. Not even Provenza’s bad attitude was going to quash her good mood. She had, after all, closed her case. “Aren’t we finished, Lieutenant?” 

“I guess we’ll see.” He snorted, turning on his heel and storming out. 

Fritz laughed a little. “He certainly is full of hot air, isn’t he?” 

“Unfortunately for me.” She nodded. 

Fritz walked further into the office. “Good job today.” 

“You too.” 

“I brought your wedding present,” he held up an elaborately designed gift bag. 

“Oh, you really didn’t have to do that.” 

“I wanted to.”

“Brenda’s going to be back next week.” Sharon said, meaning, but not saying, _why are you bringing this to me?_ All things considered, the most stressful part of her day should have been navigating around the man from whom she’d stolen the love of both their lives. It should not have been the orphan, it should not have been the officers who’ve operated within the ranking system for long enough that they should just suck it up. It probably should have been Fritz. 

Had their previous interactions been any indication, things should have been forced and awkward between them. Yet, today, things between them were pleasant and cordial. It was a surprising change. 

“I wanted to bring it to you.” He said simply.

Sharon smiled, understanding that it was a peace offering more than anything. She’d actually married Brenda and Fritz was not enough of a masochist to keep holding the torch for the southern spitfire. 

He set it down on the desk in front of her. 

She pulled out the silvery tissue paper and took out the vase. He’d gotten one of their wedding photos printed on a vase and inscribed with their names and the date of their wedding. 

It was, quite possibly, the tackiest thing she’d ever seen but at the same time she was overcome by the gesture. “Thank you. I love it.” 

“Alright, well,” he proclaimed, “I’m sure you’re ready to get home.” 

**

Sharon turned on the blinker and pulled into the driveway. 

“This is Brenda’s house.” Rusty furrowed his brow. 

“Actually, it’s mine.” She put the car in park and cut the engine. “And I have the deed to prove it.” 

Rusty either accepted what she’d just said or didn’t care enough to ask any follow up questions. He gathered his backpack and opened the door. Sharon grabbed his crutches and brought them around to him. He took the crutches without bothering to say thank you and Sharon let them into the house. 

Rusty dropped down onto the couch in typical aloof teenager style and Sharon grabbed a bottle of Riesling from the counter. When Brenda was around she mostly only drank reds but it was nice to enjoy a white here and there. 

“Don't think I'm going to be all thankful for you taking me in.” Rusty called.

“Oh, trust me, you're not the first adolescent to grace my home with your presence. Having raised two teenagers of my own, I have tremendous capacity for ingratitude.” She smirked as she poured herself a tall glass. 

“So, what are we supposed to call each other anyway?” Rusty asked, softening a little – which encouraged Sharon to be friendlier

“There are not a lot of people around here who call me by my first name but you may call me Sharon. How's that?” Sharon smiled. 

“Sharon?” He repeated, starting to scowl. 

“Mhm!” She chirped. 

“What is that? Like your bad idea of a joke or something?” 

“Sharon? No. My middle name is Mildred… that seems like a joke.” She shrugged playfully, “why do you ask?”

“Sharon is my mother’s name.” He snarled. 

Sharon’s face fell and she realized what a monumentally bad thing had just transpired. “Oh.” She wanted to kick herself for not coming up with something better to say. 

Rusty frowned, looking like he was trying to keep himself from crying. “God, you haven't been looking for her at all, have you?”

Sharon knew the feeling, she was so frustrated and just when things had looked up, this had to happen. “Rusty, I just got this job yesterday. Give me a chance to catch up. I am making a good faith effort, I am.”

“Where’s your bathroom?” 

“First door on the left down the hall.” She said softly. “Rusty, if it is possible to find your mother, I will do it. I promise you.”

“Sure you will, Captain. Sure you will...” 

The look on Rusty’s face as he turned away from her was enough to break her heart. She clutched one of the throw pillows against her chest. She was roused from her melancholic haze by her phone vibrating in her blazer pocket. 

She put the phone to her ear tiredly. “Captain Raydor.” 

“Well, that’s a fine how do you do.” 

“Oh Brenda,” she sat up, looking at the clock. “What are you still doing up?”

“Daddy and I fell asleep watching old movies. I just got up and was headin’ to bed.” 

“I’m really glad you called.” Sharon admitted, curling up in a little ball on the couch. 

“Bad day?” 

“Very mixed…” Sharon sighed, “it was a roller coaster kind of day. Provenza’s going to be a royal pain in the ass for the foreseeable future.”

“Been there.” Brenda smiled. 

“Flynn threw me a bone a couple of times… Taylor is as big an asshole as ever… Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on the day too much; it’s over and done. I really wish you were here though.” 

“I’ll be home before you know it.” 

Sharon yawned, “yeah, yeah, yeah.” 

“Go to bed, beautiful, you earned it.” 

“Hopefully it’ll just get easier from here on out.” 

“It will. I know from experience.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.”


	2. Before & After

“Hey, is James ready?” Angela asked Max, readjusting her purse strap on her shoulder. 

“Sorry,” Max chuckled, “he was last in line for the bathroom this morning. It’s gonna be a couple minutes. Can I make you a latte?” 

“Uh… sure.” Angela slid onto a stool. 

“Coming right up.” He quirked a charming smile at her. 

Max whistled as he steamed the milk. Angela stole a glance at the time on the microwave. Max slid the latte in front of her. 

“Wow.” She looked down at the butterfly he’d drawn with the foam. “Fancy.” 

“I work at a café. Need all the practice I can get.” 

“Well, I never turn down a latte.” She picked up the mug, “it’s almost too pretty to drink… almost…” She said before taking the first sip. 

James hustled into the room holding his tie and his electric razor. “Come on, I’ll shave in the car.” 

“Uh. No, you won’t.” 

James sighed heavily and disappeared down the hallway again. Most of the roommates were bustling around the kitchen and living room. 

“Hey, anyone going downtown?” Angela asked, “one more person gets me the HOV lane but I can take three.” 

“Yeah, actually that would be awesome.” Max wiped his hands on a dishtowel. 

**

“Cynthia,” Sharon smiled, “please come in.” 

“Good morning, Sharon.” Cynthia crossed over the threshold, writing on her clipboard, “it’s just you this morning, right?”

“Right, Brenda doesn’t get in until this afternoon.” 

Cynthia nodded, “that’s not a problem. I can meet her in a couple of days but, honestly, with your service records, I’m not concerned.” 

Rusty entered from the other room. Sharon turned to him, “are you all set to go after this?” 

“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. 

“Okay, I need to see the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom.” 

“Right this way, Cynthia,” Sharon ushered her into the kitchen, Rusty trailing behind them boredly. 

By the time the inspection reached the bedroom Sharon was feeling antsy about the time. As if on cue her phone rang. 

“Captain, good morning. I hope I didn’t call you at a bad time.” Provenza barked sarcastically on the other end. “Your division caught a homicide.”

“Yes, Lieutenant, I am aware but I am in the middle of something involving our material witness.” She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. 

“Yeah, well we've got a guy who's head has been bashed in.”

“I see. Did he die from the brain injuries or did he bleed out?” 

“Undetermined.” 

“Well, is the head still attached?” Sharon asked, trying to be quiet but the surprised look on Cynthia’s face told her that her efforts had been unsuccessful. 

“Erm, more or less.” Provenza answered 

“See this?” Rusty demanded. “This is no environment for a child.”

Cynthia ignored the comment and went back to inspecting the room. “These your clothes?”

“No! She makes me keep all of my things in trash bags.” 

Sharon put the phone against her shoulder. “That is not true. This is a spare bedroom that has some out of season and rarely worn clothes items in the closet, the suit is my ex-husband’s.” 

“Wait. Somebody married you?” Rusty pulled a face. 

“Captain!” Provenza shouted into the phone, drawing her attention back. “Are you going to grace us with your presence at the crime scene?” 

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant, are you suddenly in over your head?” She smirked. 

**

“Buzz,” Sharon stuck her head into the break room and Buzz perked up while Rusty lazily rolled his eyes in her direction. “I just wanted to let you know that I am going to the airport now and I will be back in two hours or less.”

Buzz had clearly been expecting a reprieve and his face fell at her words but he managed to nod and unconvincingly stammer out, “no problem.” 

**

Pulling her carryon behind her Brenda smiled hugely when she saw Sharon. Sharon met her halfway and pulled her into a big hug. “God am I glad you’re back,” she whispered. 

Brenda splayed her hands out over Sharon’s back. “Good to be back.” 

Sharon pulled the car into the garage about 40 minutes later. Brenda toed off her shoes and climbed into the back seat. “Sweetie, I have to tell you something -what are you doing?” Sharon smiled. 

“When was the last time you fooled around in the backseat of a car?” Brenda grinned suggestively. 

“Tenth grade?”

“ _Tenth grade_?” Brenda repeated with surprise. 

“What can I say?” Sharon laughed, joining her in the backseat, “once a slut, always a slut.” 

Brenda wrapped her arms around her neck. “Thank goodness for that,” before drawing her in to a deep kiss. Sharon moaned against her, feeling the arousal pooling between her legs. She hadn’t realized exactly how much she’d missed Brenda. 

Major Crimes could do without her for an extra twenty minutes… 

Brenda pushed the pinstripe blazer off Sharon’s shoulders as she kissed her deeply. Brenda felt so good; it felt so good to feel some sense of normalcy returning to her life. She sighed as Brenda pressed kisses down her neck. Sharon arched into her touch and Brenda pushed her hand down the waistband of her slacks. 

“Oh god,” Sharon gasped. 

“Mmm,” Brenda grinned against her neck, “you feel so good…” 

Sharon moaned, “you feel pretty good yourself.” 

Brenda’s fingers made tight circles over Sharon’s clit. Sharon slipped her eyes shut and moaned again. Oh, she needed this, she really did… 

**

Sharon came down the stairs slipping on a dark lilac blazer over a lighter purple dress. 

“You changed.” 

“You rumpled my suit.” Sharon teased, doing up the button on her blazer. 

“You know how much I enjoy rumpling you.” Brenda pulled Sharon in for another kiss. 

“Oh, I hate leaving you after you’ve just gotten back…” Sharon cooed, wrapping her arms around Brenda. “And not just because it’s nice to spend some time around someone who actually likes me.” 

“I’m a little jetlagged anyway, I could use a shower and a nap.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Brenda gave Sharon’s hands a squeeze and let them go. 

Sharon slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. 

“Oh, you had something to tell me?”

“Uh,” Sharon smirked to herself, “I’ll tell you when I get home.”


	3. Medical Causes

“What time is it?” Brenda asked grimacing and rubbing her eyes. 

“It’s just about 5, don’t get up.” Sharon whispered, pulling on her panty hose.

“I wasn’t going to.” Brenda scoffed. “Why are you?” 

“There was an incident and I have to go in to work.” Sharon held up two dresses. “Which one of these do you like better?”

“The blue one.”

“Grey dress it is.” 

Brenda stuck her tongue out at Sharon, hugging Sharon’s pillow against her. 

“And I’m taking Rusty with me.” 

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because he’s my responsibility.” Sharon slid her jacket on. 

“I can get the kid to school.” Brenda huffed. 

“You can barely get from the house to the office on a good day, sweetie, and the last time you were totally unsupervised with a minor you consumed half a tray of pot brownies. Forgive me if that doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in me.” 

Brenda grumbled into the pillow.

“Besides, darling,” Sharon climbed back onto the bed and covered Brenda’s body with her own, “this way you get the whole house all to yourself for a whole morning. You don’t have to help me make breakfast or make small talk before your coffee. You can sleep until ten minutes before you have to leave and I won’t be here to nag you…” 

Brenda smiled, “well, when you put it that way…” 

Sharon kissed the back of Brenda’s neck and started down her spine. 

Brenda groaned, pushing her body against the mattress in response. 

**

“Can I come over and visit?”

“Sure.” Sharon said, twisting in her chair, “we’re in the middle of a case but we’re waiting on a few things before we can move forward – I’ve already eaten lunch though.”

“Oh, me too. I was just getting back from eating, figured I’d come see you.” 

“Please do. I’m up in my office.” And then added, “in Major Crimes, don’t go to IA.”

“I wasn’t going to but now you jinxed me…” Brenda pouted. 

About ten minutes later Brenda strode through the Major Crimes bullpen. “Hey boys.”

They looked up from their work and smiled and greeted her. Brenda smiled back and let herself into Sharon’s office. She shut the door and turned the lock. “Well, well, well. The tables have turned…” 

Sharon grinned and Brenda strode around the side of the desk. Sharon turned her chair and Brenda took the invitation to hike her leg over Sharon’s lap. Sharon slid her fingers into Brenda’s hair and pulled her in for a kiss. 

Outside in the bullpen, Andy entered stirring his coffee and looked over and noticed that Sharon’s door was closed. “The Chief’s here.” Provenza said, not looking up from his crossword puzzle. 

Andy chuckled, sitting down at his desk. “Well, it’s nice to know that some things don’t change.” 

Provenza scoffed. “Nothing ever changes.” 

“So, they’re like…” Amy stuttered. 

“God, Sykes.” Provenza slammed down the puzzle. “Are you really that oblivious?” 

“Yeah, no, but I mean… at work?” 

Flynn shrugged, “nothing else to do right now.” 

Still flushed and slightly out of breath, Brenda smoothed down her skirt and opened up the candy drawer only to find it empty. “Where’s the candy?” She demanded. 

“I took it home. I don’t eat candy.” 

“Woman!” Brenda closed the drawer in a playful huff. 

“Hey, it’s my office. You know what I’m going to fill that drawer with now?” Sharon grinned mischievously. 

“What?” Brenda asked with skepticism. 

“Fruit leather.” She whispered and Brenda pretended that the words physically pained her. Sharon whispered again, “granola bars.” Sharon leaned in close, her lips brushing the shell of Brenda’s ear, “sweet potato chips.” 

Brenda put her hand over her heart, “you wouldn’t!” 

Sharon chuckled. “You’ll live. I’m sure.” She glanced at her watch, “oh, Rusty’s mother is going to be here this evening, they’re having dinner.” 

“Oh. That’s nice…” 

“And I think it’s going to be a late night for me so you might be on your own for dinner.” 

“That’s ok. Actually some people at work are doing dinner and drinks tonight so now I have no excuse not to go.” 

“That’ll be nice to get to know your colleagues a little better.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Brenda smiled. “Speaking of… I should probably get going.” 

Everyone turned when Sharon’s door opened and the Chief strode out. Sharon leaned against the doorframe with her coffee and watched her significant other’s walk of shame through the bullpen. Sanchez let out a wolf whistle and pretended to be busy when Brenda turned. 

Flynn chuckled and gave Brenda a little wave. “Hiya Chief.” 

**

Feeling good about herself after getting the boyfriend’s confession, Sharon strode down the hallway standing tall and proud. Any feelings that she didn’t belong in Major Crimes were gone. She was just considering how she was going to celebrate when her cell phone rang.. 

“Lieutenant Flynn, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to take your call earlier. We're in - What? What do you mean Rusty ran off? Ran off where?”

**

Sharon’s heart was pounding in her chest as she caught up to Flynn. “Lieutenant, anything?”

Flynn looked at Sharon guiltily. “Yeah, we have multiple units searching the streets around the bus station. Sheriff's department of West Hollywood's got his picture and everyone we can spare is out looking for him.”

“Okay. Okay.” Sharon nodded, trying to keep calm and remain optimistic. 

“Captain, look, I'm sorry. I turned my back for one second and he was gone. If I thought for one minute that he would run away, I - ” 

“Lieutenant, it's not your fault.” Sharon insisted, looking him in the eye for a moment before she turned away again, feeling so many emotions swirling around inside her. “We'll keep looking. Good night, everyone.” 

She took a couple steps and took a deep breath and turned back around. “Great work all around. Everyone. Really. Great work.”

“Captain?”

Sharon turned around again, facing Provenza. “Yes?”

“Flynn and I will stay here tonight till the kid turns up... and he will. He'll turn up.”

Sharon bit the inside of her lip. She felt a sob rising in her chest but managed to mouth “thank you.”

**

Once through the door she headed straight for the wine. She was just about to pour herself a tall glass when Rusty said from behind her, “you’re home late.”

Sharon startled, the glass and the bottle clinking together. She took a second to school her features before turning around. “I was wrapping up a case. Rusty, I'm sorry about - ”

“I don’t want to talk about it. She lied to me; I believed her and that’ll never happen again.”

“I don’t honestly think she - ”

“I really don’t want to talk about it. Please.” 

“Okay. But I have one question to ask you and I need you to answer truthfully. Why did you run away from Lieutenant Flynn?” 

Rusty shrugged a little, “I don’t cry in front of people. And I started to cry. So I left.” 

Sharon nodded, feeling her heart breaking for Rusty. “What’s that?”

“Oh, I was behind on filling out these forms for school and you said you needed them tomorrow. You still want them?”

The feeling of elation at the prospect of sending Rusty to school filled Sharon up to the brim. “Yes, I do.” 

“Okay. Goodnight.” Rusty handed her the papers and turned to go to bed. 

“Rusty, your mother is the one who's losing out here.” Sharon called after him. “Nothing she's done has a thing to do with you. I hope you know that.”

Rusty nodded a little. “I thought she loved me. And letting go of that is what's hard.”

“But holding on to someone when they're gone is even harder.”

“Thanks for trying to bring her back.” Rusty disappeared down the hall. 

Sharon had heard the word “thanks” from him more times in the preceding 18 hours than she had in the entire time she’d known him. While she was saddened by the evening’s turn of events she was surprised to also feel some relief. 

She pulled her cell phone out, “Lieutenant Provenza. Thank you for picking up so quickly. [clears throat] You can tell the department to stand down when I came in the door Rusty was here so... yes. So I guess, Rusty is home. Thank you.”


	4. The Ecstasy & The Agony

“You know, she’s more mad about _how hard_ I hit them than that I hit them.” 

“You were defending yourself from bodily harm, she gets that. But you… well, have you heard of the Use of Force Continuum?” 

“No.” Rusty frowned, pulling some leftover rotisserie chicken out of the back of the fridge. 

“Okay. I’ve just gotten to the root of your and Sharon’s communication problems. The Use of Force Continuum is like her bible. When she was in IA that was the measuring stick used in all of her investigations. _Yes_ , she is more mad about how hard you hit them.”

Rusty narrowed his eyes at her without amusement. 

“It’s like Newton’s Law: every action has an equal but opposite reaction.” 

Rusty didn’t look the slightest bit amused. “That’s stupid.” 

“Well you asked.” 

Rusty picked up the plate, “I’m going to my room.” 

**

“Rusty?” Sharon called, rapping on the door. “May I come in?”

“It’s your house.” Rusty grumbled. 

Sharon opened the door and put her hand on her hip. “You don’t have to give me attitude about everything.” 

“It’s more of a want.” Rusty smirked, turning his desk chair around. 

“Fine.” Sharon walked in and sat down on the bed. “Okay. You’re going back to school tomorrow - ”

“I’m not going to say I’m sorry. They attacked _me_!” 

“Excuse me, I hadn’t finished.” Sharon held up a halting hand. “When you go back to school tomorrow just steer clear of any of the kids who bothered you today.” 

“Come on, Sharon.” Rusty rolled his eyes and turned around. 

“Don’t be a little shit, huh?” 

Rusty turned back around quickly, shocked as Sharon’s use of words. Despite feeling indignant at her vocabulary, he respected her that much more. 

Sharon sported a crooked smile that suggested a playfulness that her eyes didn’t seem to share. “I know that you only told the truth and I know that the other boys threw the first punch but I also know that you like saying things that provoke people.” 

Rusty opened his mouth to protest but Sharon kept going.

“And I know you do it because you’re angry and you feel like you don’t have any control over your life. It’s easier to provoke a fight or an argument with a known outcome than try to open yourself up to someone and have no idea how it’ll turn out. And it’s hard to open up to new people because you’ve had your heart broken too many times already.” 

“I don’t need you to try to get into my head.” 

“I don’t have to try because I’ve been in your shoes. Granted it was a long time ago and I was younger than you but I do have a basic understanding of what you’re feeling.”

“Bullshit.” 

“When I was six my aunt and uncle adopted me. I had to move halfway across the country.”

“Did your parents die?” 

“My mother did and my father didn’t want me and I was angry about it for a long time but it didn’t change anything. Rusty, I just want you to know that I empathize and I am here for you in any capacity that you want me to be.” 

Rusty nodded a little. 

“And you can be angry because a lot of the things that have happened to you really suck just don’t let being angry about one thing keep you from enjoying another.” Sharon stood up, “and know that eventually being angry stops.”

Rusty nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you, Sharon.” 

**

Sharon was sitting on the couch with her feet propped on the coffee table and her arm around Brenda who was snuggled against her and eating a very large ice cream sundae. 

“Hey,” Rusty said from behind them. 

Sharon turned her head, “hey, everything okay?” 

“Yeah,” he shifted from one foot to the other. “I was thinking… maybe wanna watch a movie?” 

“Sure,” Sharon straightened up a little. “Want some ice cream?” 

“Okay.” He nodded. 

Sharon nudged Brenda, “why don’t you make Rusty one of your candy sundaes?” 

“Alright.” Brenda set her bowl on the coffee table. “Just don’t pick a slasher film; I’m not in the mood.”

“Scream 4 it is then.” Sharon teased. 

“You watch slasher movies?” Rusty chuckled, sitting on the couch with Sharon. 

“Love ‘em.” Sharon grinned. 

**

Angela yawned as she got out of the car and again as she knocked on the door. After a few moments Max opened the door. 

“Oh…” 

“Morning. Is James ready, do you know?” 

“Um,” Max rubbed the back of his neck, “he grabbed the bus this morning… didn’t he call you?” 

Angela groaned. “Little bastard.” She sighed, “alright. See you around then.” 

“Hey, hey, you want a latte for the road?” 

“Oh, thank you, I don’t want to put you out though.” Angela waved it off. 

“I’d gladly take a ride into the city in trade.”


	5. Citizen's Arrest

“The number you are trying to reach is not in service. Please check the number and try again.” 

Angela huffed and hung up. “I’ve been getting this message all day. I haven’t spoken to mom in almost a week and a half!” 

James shrugged his shoulders. “She’s busy with her new family… New wife, new kid…” 

“Right?” Angela threw up her hands, “I mean, it was one thing when it was just Brenda but she literally adopted a new kid. What the fuck?” 

“You know, you haven’t been much better.” James grumbled. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You haven’t exactly been availing yourself to me either.” 

“First of all, you’re the one who moved out of my apartment, you’re the one who started taking the bus and didn’t bother to tell me. Second of all, I’m not doing this here, get out of my office.” 

“Fine by me.” James stood up and grabbed the mug off of her desk. 

“Leave that.” 

He furrowed his brow and looked at the mug. “No, this is one of the mugs from the house.” 

“I know and I’ll give it back. Leave it.” 

James narrowed his eyes at Angela and set the mug back down before huffing out. 

**

“It was the right decision to tell Rusty about his father.” Brenda said, entering the bathroom. 

Sharon opened her eyes, sitting up a little straighter in the bathtub. “I know.” 

Brenda sat down next to the tub. “Do you want to talk about…?” 

“No, I don’t. My biological father doesn’t deserve discussion.” She turned, “and I know that Rusty’s father probably doesn’t even know about Rusty but I don’t want it to be just another disappointment.” 

Brenda took Sharon’s hand. “I know.”


	6. Out of Bounds

“Another Miss Manners etiquette lesson?” Brenda raised her eyebrows. 

“You could do with one or two yourself. You leave your shoes all over the place.” Sharon smirked. 

“That’s bush league, Brenda.” Rusty agreed teasingly. 

“Well, no one asked you.” Brenda stuck her tongue out and poured herself another glass of wine. “I have to finish some paperwork – don’t start any movies without me, okay?”

“Even Psycho?”

“Especially Psycho, I love Hitchcock!” Brenda gathered her files in her arms and her wine glass, “if I’m not back in thirty minutes come get me!” 

Rusty smiled as Brenda disappeared down the hallway. He gathered up the place mats and put them in the cabinet. Rusty glanced at the red folder and Sharon followed his gaze. 

“Have you looked through any of this information about your father?” Sharon asked gently. 

“My _biological _father.” Rusty frowned.__

__“Who comes with biological grandparents, aunt, uncles…”_ _

__“An uncle you found off a dna hit of a cocaine user in San Diego.”_ _

__“Your father shouldn't be held responsible for your brother's behavior.” Sharon leaned against the counter_ _

__“Fine. Well, let's just talk about my so-called-Dad's conduct then. He never even once tried to track me down. That doesn't sound very fatherly to me.” Rusty scowled._ _

__“Rusty, you didn't know about your father. There's a possibility he doesn't know about you either.”_ _

__“Or maybe he just doesn't care.” Rusty said softly._ _

__Sharon didn’t really have a good answer to that. It had been her experience that sometimes fathers just don’t care enough and sometimes mothers think more about themselves than the wellbeing of their children. He knew her history and she knew she couldn’t tell him that that surely wasn’t the case._ _

__Her reprieve came, surprisingly, in the form of Louie Provenza calling to tell her that there’d been a murder._ _

__Sharon grabbed her purse. “I’ve gotta go. Rusty, I know that you are leaning away from meeting your father but I would consider that decision carefully. Now that we know that you have family, you may enjoy meeting with them.”_ _

__“And living with them to?”_ _

__“Rusty, I’m not trying to get rid of you.” She smiled. “In fact, if you weren’t here Brenda and I would miss you. But I also feel obligated to do - ”_ _

__“What’s best for me. Yeah. I know.” Rusty shoved his hands in his pockets._ _

__“I’ll probably be late.”_ _

__“What, so now that I'm officially out of emergency care you're just going out every night? Is that it?”_ _

__“To a murder.” Sharon said slowly and added, “and do your homework before your Hitchcock marathon – and if I get home and find that you’ve watched Vertigo without me there will be consequences.”_ _

__**_ _

__When Sharon opened the door the next morning Brenda was waiting for her. Sharon smiled at her pyjama-clad wife and Brenda wrapped her arms around Sharon’s waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Brenda slid her fingers into Sharon’s hair and deepened the kiss._ _

__“Mmm,” Sharon let her purse slide out of her grasp and let her hands slide down Brenda’s curves. “A girl could used to a greeting like this.”_ _

__“Well, I missed you.”_ _

__“I missed you too.” Sharon let her head lean against Brenda’s. It was that moment when she caught a whiff of breakfast, “what is that amazing smell?”_ _

__“That’s all Rusty.”_ _

__Sharon walked into the dining room and Rusty was setting out plates. Sharon smiled, “what’s all this?”_ _

__“I thought you might be hungry when you texted and said you were finally coming home.” Rusty dished out half of what was in the pan onto Sharon’s plate as she sat down._ _

__“You didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”_ _

__“It’s no trouble. I used to make breakfast for my mom all the time.”_ _

__“Brenda, aren’t you eating?” Sharon asked._ _

__Brenda took the last couple gulps of her coffee, “I ate mine before you got home.” She set her coffee in the sink. “Rusty, breakfast was delicious. I’m going to finish getting ready for work.”_ _

__Brenda kissed the top of Sharon’s head and she stroked her arm as she retreated._ _

__“Do you want cheese?”_ _

__“Please.” Sharon nodded and Rusty spooned cheese onto her frittata. Sharon noticed the red folder sitting on the table and Rusty followed her gaze._ _

__“Uh, I looked up my... well, let's just call him my father, I looked him up on the internet.”_ _

__“What’s you find?”_ _

__“Well his facebook page was private but his resume was online. He never fought in Bosnia which is where my mom said he died and he never even served in the army either. Pretty much everything she ever said about him was a lie - big surprise huh?” Rusty scoffed a little. “Right now he's working as a mortgage broker which is a bad thing, right?”_ _

__“No, not always, a mortgage is how you buy a house.” Sharon put her first forkful into her mouth and let her eyes slide closed for a moment, “this is really good.”_ _

__“Anyway, he's living in Orange County now but he has moved around a lot: San Francisco, Tucson, Las Vegas. What could be be running from?”_ _

__Sharon shrugged, “not all who wander are lost. You need to learn more about him before you jump to conclusions.”_ _

__“Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say. I need to find out more about him. Like, if he's an asshole. If he's ever been to jail. If he does drugs. Do you think he does drugs?”_ _

__“I don’t know.”_ _

__**_ _

__“Good job today, Captain.” Taylor said – almost as an afterthought – on his way out of the office, leaving Sharon and Sanchez alone._ _

__Sharon watched the boy on the screen fold into his mother’s arms. She had done a handful of things right today, surely, but wasn’t sure if Detective Sykes would give Sharon an A for this one._ _

__“That poor young man.”_ _

__“You don’t get to pick your parents, Captain.”_ _

__Sharon smirked into her coffee. “No, you don’t.”_ _

__Sanchez stood up. “I just wanted to say good work with the receipt.”_ _

__“Thank you, Julio.”_ _

__“Because before that we had jack.” Sanchez said, earning a bemused smile from Sharon. “I’m going to go see Sykes.”_ _

__“I’ll be there shortly.” Sharon set down her coffee._ _

__Rusty entered the office, passing Sanchez on his way in. “Is Detective Sykes okay?”_ _

__“She will be.” Sharon nodded, gathering up her things. “I'm on my way over there now, I'll drop you off at the house on my way.”_ _

__“That’s okay. I could go too if that’s alright.”_ _

__“Okay.” Sharon nodded and their eyes both landed on the folder at the same time. “So? What's in the file that Lieutenant Flynn put together about your father?”_ _

__“Well, he's never been arrested. There's no history of drugs or anything like that. He just seems like a completely normal guy.” Rusty shrugged. “So I really only have one question left.”_ _

__“Okay. What’s up?”_ _

__“Do you want me to meet him so, like, like, I could leave here and live with him?” Rusty’s eyes were sincere and concerned and Sharon wanted to erase all his doubts._ _

__“Of course not. Unless that’s what you wanted to do.”_ _

__“It's just that I don't even know the guy and... and I made a friend at school...”_ _

__Sharon smiled hugely, “did you?”_ _

__“Yeah, he’s on the chess team.”_ _

__Sharon beamed with affection, “really?”_ _

__“And now that I'm out of emergency care I could join the chess team... and they could use me because they are terrible right now. And I like my history teacher and the laptop they gave me and... I don't know. I thought we were getting along. Aren't we?”_ _

__“Yes. We are. Really well.” Sharon put her hand over the folder. “Listen, I’m just presenting you with the facts as I promised I would. Meeting your biological father is completely up to you.”_ _

__“Then I don’t want to. He might not even know about me but I definitely don’t need to know about him.” Rusty shifted from foot to foot. “So if you really mean that and you don't mind me hanging around I think I'm happy where I am. With you and Brenda… I think I’m happy.”_ _

__“Well then, let’s keep it that way.” Sharon smiled. “And we’ll pick up dinner on the way home from the hospital. What are you in the mood for?”_ _

__“I know Brenda’s vote would be Chinese but… how about pizza?”_ _

__“I think pizza sounds very good.”_ _

__Rusty adjusted the backpack. “I just… what would it take for you to forgive your biological father?”_ _

__“I’ve already forgiven him but it would take an act of god to get me into the same room with him.” Sharon pressed the button for the elevator. “I hope that my own feelings toward my biological father haven’t influenced your decision.”_ _

__“It didn’t.” Rusty shook his head. “I just… I’m done with uncertainty.”_ _

__Sharon hesitated for a moment before putting her hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting rub._ _

__**_ _

__Angela’s phone vibrated in her purse and she dug it out and put it to her ear as she walked across the parking lot. “Hello?”_ _

__“Hey, this is Max.”_ _

__“Hi Max.” Angela unlocked her car and slid in._ _

__“I got your number from James. I hope that’s okay.”_ _

__“Absolutely.” The engine roared to life. “Do you need a ride home?”_ _

__“No, no.” He chuckled on the other end, “I was actually hoping you were free for dinner tonight. There’s this great Indian restaurant I know and I’d love to take you.”_ _

__Angela smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”_ _


	7. The Shame Game

Sharon rounded the corner and saw Brenda getting off the elevator. Flynn tapped Sharon’s shoulder with the file he was holding, “I’ll catch up with you. Hey Chief.” 

Brenda gave Flynn a wave as he retreated. 

Brenda held out a travel mug to Sharon. “I got myself a coffee, thought I’d bring you one.” 

“Oh, thanks.” She smiled, accepting the proffered drink. 

“Are you busy?” 

“You know how it is but I always have time for you.” 

“Captain Raydor, just who I was looking for.” 

Sharon turned around when she heard her name and was surprised to see Rusty’s case worker. “Cynthia.”

“Brenda, it’s good you’re here too. Good news. Sharon Raydor, Brenda Leigh Johnson, this is Daniel Dunn,” she gestured to the man behind her. “Rusty’s father.” 

**

“Rusty was very clear. He did not want to meet his biological father.” Sharon snapped once Daniel was safely stashed in the break room. 

“The kid’s just settling in!” Brenda frowned. 

“Foster care is, by definition, temporary. As it is, officially, Rusty has a placement issue to which this man could be the answer.” 

“At the moment he's more of a question. Like why did he just show up now after 16 years?” Sharon folded her arms across her chest. 

“Because you people gave us DNA results last week and told us to go look for him _and_ once we found Mr. Dunn we were legally obligated to notify him of Rusty's existence. In all 50 states we would have to try and reunite him with a parent or the nearest – ”

Sharon started shaking her head, causing Cynthia to stop talking and turn around 

“Hey… what’s up?” Rusty furrowed his brow at the cavalcade of women. 

“Nothing… why aren’t you in school?” Cynthia questioned. 

“Faculty retreat. They let us go right after mass. Gotta love those Catholics, right?” 

Sharon laughed uncomfortably. 

“Am I in trouble again?” Rusty worried his lip. 

“Oh, no. What do you need?”

“A soda?” 

“We have a sensitive family thing going on in the break room right now, so…” Sharon cleared her throat, “I’ll bring you a soda in a minute.” 

“Okay.” He regarded Sharon with suspicion, his gaze moving to Brenda and then Cynthia. “Uh, bye Cynthia.”

“Bye Rusty.” They waited until he was out of earshot before Cynthia continued, “Let me give you the headline here: unless he proves unfit, Mr. Dunn has parental rights.”

Sharon nodded, rubbing her temple. 

“I’ll be in touch.” Cynthia said before taking her leave. 

“I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Sharon sighed. “I don’t feel good about this.” 

Brenda rubbed Sharon’s back. She didn’t have much to add. She didn’t have the best feeling either but she knew that Sharon and Rusty were already very close and she felt a duty to be ‘glass half full’ person in this situation. 

“I hate him already.” Sharon whispered. 

Brenda smiled, “yeah, he looks like a douche.” 

Sharon smiled back, “you always know just what to say.” 

Brenda held her arms out to her, “I have to get back to work. I’ll call you in a little bit.” 

Sharon gladly accepted the hug and kissed her cheek. “Thanks. And thanks for the coffee.” 

**

Sharon smoothed down her skirt and paced in front of the door for a few moments. She was used to volatility. She had to be after being with Brenda for almost eight years but it didn’t mean she took any pleasure in knowingly setting someone off. 

Finally she threw open the door, “Rusty, dcfs notified your biological father about you.” Just pull off the bandaid. 

“What?” Rusty slammed his soda can down. “You said it was up to me! that meeting my father was up to me!” 

“Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let me tell you what happened here.” Sharon held up her hands in an attempt to calm him.

“Wait, wait, wait, so that's why Cynthia was here, did she bring this guy with her? Is-is he in the break room?” Rusty demanded and Sharon straightened up, looking as apologetic as she could manage. “He is, isn't he? he's in the breakroom that is why you guys wouldn't let me in to get my soda because I am the sensitive family problem you have.” 

“Cynthia thought she was doing you a favor by bringing Mr. Dunn here - ” 

“No, you stop it, Sharon!” Rusty cried, his voice cracking and tears in his eyes. “She was doing a favor for you! Not doing a favor for me! Great! Now the rules win and you can get rid of me and it's not your fault.”

“I am not trying to get rid of you!” 

Provenza had enough and he burst into the room. “okay, that's enough, _that's enough_!” He snapped, “Now. You know that I am not friends with this woman but if she wanted to get rid of you she could have dumped you in a group home months ago.”

“It’s alright, Lieutenant.” Sharon insisted meekly. 

Provenza waved her off. He cared about the boy very much but had zero tolerance for back talk or self-pity – from children... “No, it's not alright. So this guy shows up, says he's your father, wants to see you. Well none of us _like_ it but instead of whining about the situation let's look at our options.” 

“You talked to him? What’d you think?” Rusty asked, chastised. 

“Rusty... I'm going to tell you the truth. Um, I can't say that I liked him. I don't know him and I can't be objective.” Despite her best efforts she felt tears welling up in her eyes. The absolute last thing she wanted was to cry in front of Provenza. “H-he made an effort to come and see you and I think, just - think about that.”

Sharon turned to walk away. She didn’t cry in front of people either. 

“Sharon, I’m sorry.” Rusty tried. 

“I know,” she said quickly, beelining for the door. 

“Sharon, I’m sorry!” 

“ _I know_.” She choked on a sob and tried to smile at him. “I know.” She walked straight to her office, not looking at anything other than the door knob or thinking about anything past counting the steps it took to get her there. 

She pulled open the door and shut it, leaning back against it. Her chest wracked with the effort to hold back her tears. She ran her hands over her face, not caring if she was ruining her make up. 

**

After the case had been wrapped up and Sharon and Rusty had both calmed down a little about the Daniel Dunn-in-break-room situation. 

“I think it says something good about Daniel that he waited around for twelve hours.” Sharon shrugged, trying to be as optimistic about the situation as possible. “Look, what you do today is still your decision. When the dna comes back - ”

“I know. I've been looking it up all day on the internet that whole parental rights thing. If he takes this to court we're screwed, the law is on his side so don't say we have choices, we don't have choices. Either of us.” 

“We can choose how we react.” 

Rusty shrugged and scuffed his feet. Rusty’s eyes were big and sad and they tugged at her heart strings. “Yeah... but he won't like me, Sharon, he'll find out everything about me and I just - I can't. How could there be any better place for than with you and Brenda?”

Sharon wanted to throw her arms around the boy and hold him forever. 

“I mean, you and I were both abandoned as children. Brenda and I were both almost killed by Philip Stroh. You both know what it’s like to not be straight. I… don’t want to be with people who I have nothing in common with…”

Sharon nodded a little. “Before you make any decisions, why don't you give him a really good look in the eye?” 

The door to Major Crimes opened and Brenda let herself in quietly. Rusty pushed off from the wall he was leaning against. “I know I already said that I was sorry before... for saying that you wanted to get rid of me. That was terrible and I don't really think that.”

“I know.” Sharon nodded, “it’s already forgotten.” 

“You have been nothing but good to me, Sharon, and I know that. I always know that.”

“Well, I l - ” she paused for a moment. “I really like having you around.” 

Rusty smiled at her, unspoken words still on the tip of his tongue. “Hi Brenda.” He greeted on his way by. She patted his shoulder. 

Once the door closed behind him, Brenda gently brushed Sharon’s cheek. Sharon looked up at her with wet eyes. 

“I know, sweetheart,” Brenda put her arm around her and Sharon laid her head on Brenda’s shoulder. 

The door flew open and the women looked up startled as Rusty ran back in. “I don’t want to talk about, please can we just go home?”


	8. Dismissed with Prejudice

“Mom?” 

“Try not to sound so surprised, pumpkin.” 

“No, it’s just that…” Angela leaned back in her chair, switching the phone from one ear to the other. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“I know. Thanks for being patient with me, I’ve been dealing with a lot around here.” 

“How’s work going?”

Sharon chuckled a little, “well, stepping into Brenda’s shoes has been kind of a challenge but I believe I have won my colleagues’ grudging respect.” 

Angela smiled, “gotta take it any way you can get it, right?” 

“Would you and James like to get lunch with me today?” 

“I’d love to… not sure about James though.” Angela shrugged, “I haven’t seen him in a couple of days and to be honest he’s been a bit of a twat.” 

Sharon snorted, “very colorful, Angela. And, um, how exactly have you not seen him in days, he lives with you…”

“Actually…”

**

“James Jackson Raydor!” Sharon snapped into the phone as soon as he answered. “What were you thinking moving into that neighborhood? As if I don’t have enough to worry about!” 

James flushed bright red and hoped that no one else could hear his mother scolding him. “It’s up and coming…” he tried to insist. 

“It is not up and coming.” Sharon snarled, “do you have any idea how much crime there is in that neighborhood? What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing…” 

Sharon sighed heavily, “look, this discussion isn’t over. I have to get back to work.”

“I’m a grown man, I don’t need my mother - ”

“ _Then start acting like it!_ ” 

He stared at the phone in his hand, realizing that Sharon had actually hung up on him. 

“Harsh, dude.” One of his roommates muttered, shuffling by. James blushed even deeper and dialed his big-mouthed sister. 

**

Brenda had judiciously chosen to make herself scarce during the dinner with Daniel Dunn. After dinner Sharon had made everyone tea and settled them in the living room. 

“I’m sorry,” Sharon said when Rusty excused himself to the bathroom. “He’s usually much more talkative.”

Sharon was attempting to be polite but also sizing him up. 

“Maybe he’s overwhelmed.” Daniel suggested with a shrug. “Like me. Look, you've raised kids, how do I get him to warm up?” 

“Try something positive about his mother. He won't admit it but he really misses her.” 

Daniel smirked, “I knew her intimately, not well.” 

“Think of something.” Sharon pursed her lips. 

Rusty came back in and sat down on the chair as far from Daniel as possible. Daniel started telling Rusty about Sharon Beck and Sharon Raydor watched, trying to remain objective. 

“So, it’s a school night so I think I should do my homework…” 

“Look, Rusty, there's no pressure. I'll call you. If you don't want me to come back tomorrow, we'll make our visit for some other time. How's that?”

“Perfect.” Sharon said, standing and ushering Daniel toward the door. “Good night, Daniel, thank you for buying us dinner.” 

“Yeah, thanks.” Rusty said, almost begrudgingly. 

Once Daniel was gone Rusty gave Sharon a pointed look. “What?” 

“How am I supposed to know if I should trust anything he says?” 

“You can’t.” Sharon said simply. “But the dna confirms he is your father, he has legal rights. We can't stall him forever. Rusty, you need to get to know this man. I know it's hard to trust him. Trust _me_. I'm on your side.”

Rusty nodded, “I know that.” 

“Okay.” She smiled. “Would you like to play a game of chess before you do your homework?” 

“Yeah.” He smiled back and she went off to grab the board. 

He listened to her playful boasting of how badly she was planning on beating him and couldn’t help the melancholy that settled over him. How many more nights would he have with her? How many more Hitchcock marathons? How many more ice cream sundae Sundays with Brenda? 

It felt like a cosmic joke. After dropping his righteous indignation and his bad attitude he realized just how good he had it with Brenda and Sharon. Like “they” are so fond of saying ‘you can’t choose your family’ and he didn’t _choose_ Sharon and Brenda but he got a second chance with them. Just when he was really appreciating exactly how good he had it with them the sperm donor showed up. 

Brenda joined them in the kitchen a short time later. Brenda put an arm around Sharon, “your bishop’s vulnerable, dear.” 

“I have played before.” Sharon smirked. 

“She knows what she’s doing.” Rusty chuckled, “she’s trying to bait me into taking her bishop so she can take my knight.” 

“Very sneaky.” Brenda grinned, practically sitting in Sharon’s lap. 

“You didn’t drive home, did you?” Sharon looked over at her with a furrowed brow, “you smell like you took a bath in Merlot.” 

“Took a cab.” Brenda leaned her head against Sharon’s. “Left my car at Malloy’s.” 

Sharon cupped Brenda’s chin, “take an aspirin and drink some water.” 

“Kay.” She kissed Sharon’s temple. “You smell good.” 

“You’re a distraction.” Sharon teased. 

“It’s your turn, Sharon.” Rusty said gently. 

“Alright, let’s see - ” Sharon reached for one of her pieces and stopped. Rusty attempted to hold back a laugh and Sharon realized that he’d moved a handful of the pieces around. “Cheater!” 

Rusty burst into laughter and Sharon reached across to tickle him. He squirmed and made a show of playfully trying to swat her away. 

**

“Hey,” Josh Lewis greeted, walking into the research room. “What are you still doing here?”

“I’m working on compiling some research for the Pullman brief.” James said, not looking up from the book. 

“You can pick this back up in the morning.” 

“I’m already clocked out, don’t worry.”

Josh laughed, “I wasn’t worried about that. Why don’t you want to go home?” 

“I moved into a new place which a bunch of other guys and there’s no peace and quiet in the house.” James sighed, “I pissed Angela off and my mom’s busy with her new job and Rusty.” 

“Rusty?” 

“The kid from the Phillip Stroh case.” 

“Oh right.” 

“Anyway, I just want to distract myself if it’s all the same.” James turned the page of the book, scanning the contents. 

“Come on, I’ll buy you a beer.” 

“You don’t have to do that.” 

Josh draped his suit jacket over his arm. “I’m not going to say it again.”


	9. Cheaters Never Prosper

“Yeah, no, I mean - ” Brenda laughed, setting down her wine. “The DA’s office isn’t my ideal job… it’s definitely difficult to adjust to not being on the job anymore but it’s good. Andrea and I are getting to be good friends. I haven’t had a woman friend since college.” 

Sharon snorted, “what do you call me?” 

“You don’t count. We weren’t friends before we started sleeping together. She’s the first woman friend since college that I didn’t want to sleep with.” 

“Okay, fair enough.” Sharon took a bite of her penne all'arrabbiata. “We should have her over for dinner some time; I like her too.” 

“Should we invite Lieutenant Provenza too?” Brenda teased. 

Sharon scoffed. “Not a chance in hell. Maybe Andy though.” 

“Oh, you’re friendly with Andy?”

“Yeah, he started out more helpful than the rest and he’s been supportive. They’ve all been really good to Rusty too.” 

“Speaking of… how are you doing?” Brenda asked carefully.

Sharon sighed, “I’m keeping myself busy and distracted. I know I’m biased but I don’t really like Daniel. He just rubs me the wrong way.” 

Brenda put a great deal of stock in first impressions. Between them, Sharon and Brenda had almost 60 years of experience and she knew that if Sharon didn’t like him – bias or not – there was something rotten in the state of Denmark. Brenda took a sip of her wine as way of holding her tongue. 

“So what should we do for the rest of the night?”

“I’m very glad you asked that.” Sharon grinned, “I thought we could open a bottle of wine…”

“Mhmm…” 

“And watch Sixteen Candles…” 

“Mmm, my favorite…”

“I know.” Sharon whispered, leaning closer, lips almost brushing Brenda’s. “And also a surprise.”

“I hate surprises; tell me now.” Brenda murmured. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

“I got you…” Sharon said slowly. “A box of…” 

“Just tell me!” Brenda giggled. 

“Hostess snack cakes.”

Brenda let out an embarrassingly high squeal of excitement. Sharon laughed when several restaurant patrons turned to look at her. Brenda blushed and asked – considerably more softly – “where did you get them?”

“I know a guy who knows a guy.” 

**

Once through the door Brenda headed immediately for the kitchen, “I’ll get the wine, you get the movie!” 

Sharon stripped out of her blazer, hanging it up in the closet, kicking her shoes into its depths. When she rounded the corner into the living room she immediately noticed Rusty’s bag. He never left the house without that bag so he must have returned… 

“Rusty?” Sharon called, “Rusty are you home?”

“Rusty’s here?” Brenda came in from the kitchen. “Is everything okay?” 

Sharon heard movement on the other side of Rusty’s door. “Rusty? What happened?”

“Can we talk about it in the morning?” Came the muffled reply. 

“Is everything alright?” Sharon put her hand against the door. “Do I owe Daniel a call?”

“Wait, wait, wait. I'm coming. Just don't freak out, okay?” 

“No promises.” 

Rusty opened the door slowly. Sharon couldn’t help but gasp and Rusty winced at her reaction. He hadn’t wanted to worry her or cause her any problems – but that’s what he was, he was a problem. 

“Oh my god!” She covered her mouth with her hand. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t hit him back.” Rusty assured, “I just ran and used the $100 you gave me to get a cab.”

“Oh my god…” Sharon repeated, unable to articulate further. Finally she managed, “what did he do to you? Come over here and sit in the light.”

“Rusty!” Brenda stopped in her tracks as Sharon guided him to the couch and turned on the lamp. 

“What happened?”

“Annie, his obnoxious fiancee, was asking me all these, like, really personal questions about, like, how I'd gotten along without my mother and I thought why not just get the whole gay hustling thing out there. And then when I did that Annie kind of freaked out and Daniel took me outside to talk and then he accused me of trying to ruin his wedding and then I told him that I could care less about his stupid wedding...” Rusty stopped for a moment and then continued slowly, “and he hit me...”

Sharon pressed a cold compress to the bruise on his temple and he winced. “Why didn’t you call me?” 

“Because, Sharon, I knew you’d be upset and I wanted to think things through” Rusty sighed as Sharon started to root around in the first aid kit for antibiotic ointment. Rusty gently pushed away the ice pack, “we're past the ice stage on my face.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I'm sure. My, uh, my mother's boyfriend used to do this sort of thing to me like once a week - until I beat the crap outta him and then the next day he and my mom dropped me off at the zoo. Now you know everything.” 

Sharon’s heart ached and, in an attempt to stay calm, dabbed antibiotic ointment on his split lip. 

“Look, did I do anything I need to apologize for?” 

Sharon scoffed, “no.” She shook her head vehemently. “We are past the apology stage of our relationship with Mr. Dunn and we have moved on to the 'please don't let me drive over his house and shoot him in the head phase'”

Rusty smiled sadly, “On the bright side I guess I don't have to go back to Daniel's house now, huh?”

Brenda sat down on the couch on Rusty’s other side. She nudged his arm gently and when he turned she held out one of the Ding Dongs from the box Sharon had bought her. Sharon felt overcome by love for Brenda and for their family. Brenda had given Rusty one of the few remaining Ding Dongs on earth. 

“Thanks.” Rusty accepted the snack cake and unwrapped it.   
Sharon wiped the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand.


	10. Long Shot

The front door opened and Brenda poked her head out of the dining room. “Just in time. Rusty made flatbreads.”

“Smells great. How can I help?” 

“You can turn your phone off and sit down.” Rusty teased, “I spent an hour slaving away over a hot stove and I don’t want you running out of here.” 

“You got it.” Sharon smiled and took out her phone and shutting it off. 

The three were about halfway through with dinner when Rusty cleared his throat, “so Daniel came today like you said he would, huh?”

“Yes.” Sharon said tersely, the idea of Daniel Dunn still leaving a bad taste in her mouth. “He wants to _‘apologize’_.” 

Brenda scoffed, pushing a bite of broccoli into her mouth to keep her own thoughts on the subject silenced. 

“So not returning his calls was the right thing to do?”

“Oh yes,” she nodded, “I wouldn't have been able to record him in a phone conversation without a warrant but his apology could work perfectly as a spontaneous confession.” 

Brenda put her hand over Sharon’s. Even when she was pissed off she was still logical. 

“So I don't have to see him again, right?” Rusty frowned. Sharon bit the inside of her lip, the sight of his bruised flesh still filling her with anger and sadness. 

Sharon gave him a small mollifying smile. “it'll be uncomfortable for a few minutes and then a chance to solve this problem forever.” 

“You sure about all this?”

“Honey, I do this for a living. Rusty, if you change your mind we can still arrest him, otherwise at 4 o' clock tomorrow: two minutes, you're done.”

Rusty smiled, “and I get to stay here.” 

“For as long as you want.”


End file.
